Table 3.

Qualitative analysis of POZ/AIDSmeds community forums^a: examples of quotations coded for impact of cardiovascular risks associated with antiretroviral treatment

Codes for impact of cardiovascular risks	Quotations from POZ/AIDSmeds community forums
Awareness	“I read that Epzicom has moved from ‘preferred’ to ‘alternate status because concerns about possible increased heart attack risk”
Patient concerns	“…the Abacavir added risk to MI, it is indeed a concern of mine. I am not too happy with this additional risk. Therefore I will discuss it with the cardiologist” “Actually my doc has brought up another boosted PI with Isentress, but I am reluctant, because I think the Norvir booster (even at that low dose) is heart toxic…Probably being a little irrational, but still...” “My concern with Epzicom is that I took it for 5 years. I only switched because of abacavir and the studies that showed potential cardio problems”
Clinician concerns	“I would like to switch since the doctors are concerned about heart attack risk with ziagen” Abacavir: “My doctor said he will not prescribe it for me due to the combined facts of my age (48) and I’m a smoker. He said the cardiac risk was too high when there were other meds available to me”
Treatment impact	“My concern with Epzicom is that I took it for 5 years. I only switched because of abacavir and the studies that showed potential cardio problems” “Ziagen (abacavir) is now said to be linked to heart disease. In my case, with a family history of heart attacks, I am changing my regime to Truvada plus something else…” “I switched from Epzicom to Atripla—around 2007—because of general cardiovascular concerns with abacavir—even though I don’t have risk factors for heart disease, except I’m a male and 60” “I switched from Kaletra…I felt Kaletra may have been keeping my HIV under control but it was putting me at risk for stroke”

^aThere are 18 separate POZ/AIDSmeds forums organized by topics. For the current analysis, all posts made to two forums between January 2008 and August 2014 were examined: (1) the English version of “Living with HIV” and (2) “Questions about treatment and side effects”